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#ETMOOC Is Overwhelming. So, Let’s Make Some Meaning.

Published on January 19, 2013, by in etmooc, Learning Is Change List.

I was quite engaged by Sheri Edwards comments on my previous vlog, so I thought I would extend it into a discussion of how we can "spin off" parts of the course conversation into passion projects. This isn’t the final word on how to create meaning in a MOOC, but it is what I would love to continue to discuss and collaborate on throughout the course.

Original video with comment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tJH8E1MnTU

Great discussion on top of that video that Sheri made (which does an even better job extending the idea): https://vialogues.com/vialogues/play/7216

Google+ Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/116395158372553895482

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  • onepercentyellow

    Love the phrase “passion projects”. Nice job addressing that MASSIVE aspect.

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Thank you so much. By commenting on the video, you have started the process of spinning off a new idea. What sorts of passion projects are anticipating on building because of #etmooc?

  • Maha Abed

    I’m sure that you have allayed a lot of peoples’ fears about an “overwhelming MOOC”, Benjamin. Great job! You’ve hit the nail on the head – we can’t follow everything and everyone’s comments – it’s a place to be selective and follow our “passion projects”, as you called them. As a librarian, I am interested in all. Mine is a profession that needs to know as much as possible to assist clients to learn things too. Willingness to jump in and give anything a go is a great start! :)

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    I love the willingness to jump in at any point, but I do think having a grounded place to start from makes a lot of sense. It sounds like you are using your chosen discipline as that “hub”. What are you looking to branch out into?

  • Maha Abed

    Personally, I am interested in creating interactive eLearning in LMS environments. Been reading a lot about AR and visualisation of late. :)

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    That is such an interesting idea, especially within an LMS. There are very few people (at least that I have seen) that are using AR in a systematic way rather than a s a “shiny” new toy. Have you looked at Aurasma recently? They have updated their app to be much more learning object friendly.

  • Serena Turri

    Bravo!

  • Joy Kirr

    I’m not in the etmooc as a result of the massive aspect of it and had similar thoughts as Sheri. However, I wasn’t on Twitter for the same reason, and now I have those connections of which you speak, one of them being Sheri! Thanks for this video (vlog?) – I’ll be sharing it with my friends who are not believers in Twitter, too!

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Thanks so much. I’m glad to be a part of this conversation.

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    I love the concept of “nonbelievers” in the value of connected learning. I think giving concrete examples of how learning is built together (and therefore social by nature) is the easiest way to create converts. Let’s keep the examples coming.

  • Claire Thompson

    Your post ties in nicely with Stephen Downes’ post on what makes a MOOC Massive. What I took away from Downes was that for a MOOC to be considered massive there must be enough active participants that sub-communities form. I guess the question that I have after reading Downes and watching your post is how do I find those people that resonate with me? What do you think? How are you finding your #ETMOOC sub-community?

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    The best way I have found to do this is to post the things I want to think about and allow the folks that are interested to comment. Once we have exchanged a few ideas, I suggest formalizing the community a bit and I make a “twitter list”, Google+ community, or simply a reading list that I will Always Respond To. Basically, I am letting the group self-select and then I am strengthening it by encouraging back and forth interaction in the “sub-community”. Does that make sense?

  • Claire Thompson

    Thanks for the suggestions! It’s great that you’ve included Twitter lists as a way to build/keep track of your community; I hope more people start using them. I guess part of this process is that I have to recognize that it takes time to build community and to be patient.
    Thanks for stretching my thinking!

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Absolutely. The time piece is hard for me as well. I want to be creating new things pretty much all of the time, but I need to strive for balance as well. I think that the patience comes in when I realize that this particular collaboration is setting up the next one, and this conversation I am having with you is the precursor to something more deep in the future.

    I guess what I am trying to say is thanks for helping me plant some seeds.

  • Max Alvarez

    I’d like to make a little contribution to your three metaphors of PLNs: ‘the latecomer at a party’. You arrive late at a party in which you don’t know anybody and have to start conversation. So you stroll slowly through the crowd, trying to make eye contact to join in some of the groups that have already formed. You chat a little bit here and there till you find the group that share your interests. So you stay there longer. But eventually, you know you’ve got to keep moving on.

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    I like this addition a bunch. There is a certain shyness that really is okay within a network. I would love to think more about what the role of “lurkers” are within a PLN. Right now, we are only considering those who are speaking up. What does “making eye contact” look like as well? My thought is that liking, +1ing or retweeting represents eye contact. I wonder if we should be measuring that and highlighting it more. What do you think?

  • InaHendricks

    This is a superbly helpful video. I hadn’t thought of how to maintain my sanity in etmooc (or any other mooc) in quite this way before. It’s a good way of thinking of dealing with information overload in the connected world in general, just using Twitter, Diigo, Google+, and more is overwhelming.

  • InaHendricks

    Where’s the best place to post what you’re interested in and hoping others will join in? I do so on my blog, but there are over 1000 blog posts on etmooc already, and personally I’ve only read about 3-4 of them so far (I started etmooc today). I can’t imaging reading more than about 2 per day. What if the people I want to connect with don’t catch my blog post? Is google+ better for this purpose? twitter?

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    I don’t think that reading two blog posts a day is bad at all. That is enough to keep you fed, so long as you are doing something with them (i.e., writing on your blog). As for finding the conversation, I am finding that Google+ is the easiest place to start an idea that you can then bring to your blog (or a video, like this one) and then resurface in the Google+ community.

    Overall, definitely blog, but then share the link in the community and start a conversation there.

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Thanks so much for your kind words. The overwhelming nature of the stream is pretty rough. I highly recommend picking one spot to talk through each day rather than hopscotching around. Also, tools like Hojoki or Curate.me help me bubble up the most important conversations going on. Talk to you soon!

  • Max Alvarez

    Thanks for your idea. I haven’t noticed that the three strategies you mentioned could be thought of as representing eye contact.
    Then as regards the ‘lurkers’, I think this category is a transitional or dynamic one. What I mean is, if the lurkers keep interacting and manage to get confident enough as they develop their PLNs, they eventually ‘evolve’.

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Yes. I don’t believe that lurkers have to stay lurkers, but that they serve an important role as audience members. They are the ones that end up making crowd-funding and crowd-sourcing work. When they see a cause they want to get behind, then they go for it and they help create things that are amazing. Mostly, though, they provide us with the sense that we are being heard, and that change is possible in a broader sense. How else do you see lurkers as dynamic?

  • InaHendricks

    Thanks– I hadn’t thought of just picking one thing to look at each day. And I haven’t heard of Hojoki or Curate.me either, so I’ll look into those!

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Let me know what you think. I’m always on the look out for new ways to use the tools I like.

  • Ann Giralico Pearlman

    I agree that this video has been very helpful. Your ideas of finding the right topic and connections gave me a perspective on how not to let all the interactive communications not be so overwhelming. I’ll stay tuned and look for your next video. Thanks

  • Benjamin Wilkoff

    Absolutely! I also believe that finding the right topic has a lot to do with determining what it is that you would like to get out of a learning experience. By doing that self-reflection, you are able to determine which connections are the ones you will pursue. Thanks for watching, and let me know if there is anything you would like to think through with me. I’m always looking for new ideas to tackle.

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